author
James Buchanan
1791–1868
Often remembered as the president who faced the nation’s final slide toward Civil War, this Pennsylvania lawyer and lifelong bachelor spent decades in public office before reaching the White House. His long career in Congress, diplomacy, and the Cabinet makes him one of the most experienced men ever elected president.
1 Audiobook
State of the Union Addresses
by James Buchanan
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1791, James Buchanan studied at Dickinson College, trained as a lawyer, and built a successful career in Lancaster. Before becoming president, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as secretary of state under President James K. Polk. He also represented the United States abroad as minister to Russia and later to the United Kingdom.
Buchanan became the 15th president of the United States in 1857. His presidency is closely tied to the deepening national crisis over slavery and secession. He tried to hold together a rapidly dividing country, but his actions and inaction during those years have led many historians to judge his presidency harshly.
He left office in March 1861, just before the Civil War began, and spent his final years at Wheatland, his home near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Buchanan died there in 1868. He remains a striking and controversial figure in American history: a seasoned statesman whose long public career could not prevent the Union from breaking apart.